REPORT 


OF  THE 

Commission  to  Examine 

THE 

Normal  Schools 

OF  THE 

State  of  Vermont 


TO  THE 


General  Assembly 

1908 


ST.  ALBANS,  VT. : 

St.  Albans  Messenger  Company  Print. 
1908. 


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REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSION  TO  EXAMINE  THE 
NORMAL  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  STATE  OF 
VERMONT. 

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§ 

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To  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Vermont: 


Under  a joint  resolution  approved  by  His  Excellency 
Governor  Fletcher  D.  Proctor,  December  14th,  1906,  your 
Commission  respectfully  submits  the  following  report  in 
relation  to  the  Normal  Schools  of  the  State  of  Vermont. 

The  duties  of  the  Commission  are  defined  in  the  joint 
resolution,  which  reads  in  part  as  follows: 

“RESOLVED,  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Represen- 
tatives : 


“That  a Commission  consisting  of  five  members  to  be 
appointed  by  the  Governor  is  hereby  created  and  empower- 
ed to  consider  the  present  status  and  the  equipment  of  the 
Normal  Schools  of  the  State,  to  compare  the  same  with 
the  Normal  School  facilities  of  other  states,  and  to  report 
to  the  General  Assembly  at  the  biennial  session  in  1908 
their  findings  and  recommendations  by  bill  or  otherwise. 
Said  Commission  is  empowered  to  call  for  and  examine 
persons,  books,  and  papers  in  relation  to  the  Normal 
Schools.” — No.  500  of  the  Acts  of  1906. 

Acting  under  the  authority  conferred  in  this  joint 
resolution,  your  Commission  desires  to  report  that  it  has 
found  the  present  Normal  Schools  well  conducted  so  far  as 
conditions  permit.  The  State  Board  of  Normal  School 
Commissioners  is  to  be  commended  for  the  work  it  has 
accomplished  with  the  inadequate  means  at  its  command. 


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Your  Commission  is,  however,  of  the  unanimous  opin- 
ion that  the  present  Normal  Schools  do  not  adequately 
meet  the  educational  needs  of  the  times  and  are  open  to 
serious  criticism  as  representative  institutions  of  the 
State. 

It  desires  to  call  your  attention  to  some  of  the  more 
prominent  of  these  defects. 

1st.  Buildings.  The  buildings  are  poorly  adapted  to 
the  modern  requirements  of  Normal  School  education  and 
do  not  meet  even  the  present  demands  made  upon  them. 
The  sanitary  conditions,  the  lighting  of  class-rooms,  and 
the  general  condition  of  the  plants  leave  much  to  be 
desired.  This  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  the  State 
of  Vermont  does  not  own  the  title  to  any  of  the  property 
now  occupied  for  Normal  School  purposes;  has  no  satis- 
factory lease  of  the  buildings ; pays  no  rent  and  has  author- 
ity to  make  only  slight  repairs,  whereas  extensive  altera- 
tions are  necessary  to  meet  the  growing  demands  of 
modern  education. 

2nd.  Financial  Support.  The  appropriations  for  the 
Normal  Schools  are  insufficient,  and  the  lack  of  available 
funds  has  led  to  several  unfavorable  results : 

(a) .  The  equipment  of  the  buildings  in  supplies, 
apparatus,  natural  history  collections,  manual  training 
material,  etc.  is  inadequate. 

(b) .  The  Normal  School  Commissioners,  forced  to 
offer  meager  salaries,  are  seriously  embarrassed  in  secur- 
ing and  retaining  teachers  of  thorough  preparation  and 
rich  experience.  This  results  in  a large  proportion  of  in- 
struction that  is  unprofessional  or  experimental,  and  vir- 
tually makes  of  our  Normal  Schools  institutions  for  the 
training  of  normal  instructors  who  shortly  leave  for  better 
paid  positions  in  other  states. 

(c) .  The  enrichment  of  the  course  of  study  by  the 
elaboration  of  present  studies,  by  the  addition  of  new 
courses,  or  by  increasing  the  number  of  the  faculty,  is 
practically  impossible. 


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(d).  The  attractions  to  prospective  students  are 
limited,  with  the  consequence  that  the  number  and  the  per- 
sonnel of  the  student  body  are  unsatisfactory.  It  is  gene- 
rally true  of  the  State  that  capable  graduates  of  high 
schools  or  academies  who  intend  to  teach  do  not  attend  the 
State  Normal  Schools,  either  contenting  themselves  with 
a high  school  education — which  by  a large  number  of  school 
officials  is  regarded  as  fully  equal  to  Vermont  Normal 
School  training — or,  if  financially  able  to  do  so*  attending 
the  Normal  Schools  of  other  states. 

3rd.  Status  of  the  Normal  Schools.  The  Normal 
Schools  are  in  no  sense  the  pedagogical  leaders  of  the 
State,  and  play  little  or  no  part  in  shaping  its  educational 
policies  and  standards.  They  do  not  fairly  represent  the 
dignity  or  the  educational  ideals  of  Vermont,  nor  can  they, 
under  existing  conditions  and  in  their  present  locations, 
ever  assume  their  rightful  place  in  these  particulars. 

4th.  Training  School  Facilities.  The  opportunities 
for  affording  Normal  School  students  practical  training  in 
teaching  and  school  management  are  lamentably  poor  and 
insufficient.  The  number  of  children  in  the  model  or  prac- 
tice schools  should  be  not  less  than  three  times  as  great  as 
the  enrollment  of  Normal  School  students,  and  for  really 
satisfactory  work  should  be  even  greater.  The  insufficient 
amount  and  the  inferior  kind  of  practice  work  now  obtained 
by  the  Normal  students  are  among  the  most  serious  defects 
in  the  present  system. 

5th.  Standard  of  Admission.  The  standard  of  ad- 
mission, and  consequently  the  grade  of  work  done  by  the 
students,  is  too  low.  The  requirements  for  entrance  are 
appreciably  lower  than  those  demanded  by  the  State  for 
entrance  to  high  schools  under  the  free  tuition  law  of  1906. 
In  the  opinion  of  the  Commission,  however,  the  standard  of 
admission  cannot  be  materially  raised  so  long  as  the  Normal 
Schools  remain  in  their  present  general  condition. 

6th.  Possibilities  of  Improvement  and  Growth.  The 
outlook  for  the  improvement  and  growth  of  the  Normal 
Schools  in  their  present  locations  is  not  encouraging. 


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Under  the  existing  conditions  of  ownership,  extensive 
repairs  and  needed  alterations  are  impossible,  and  without 
them  the  work  will  continue  to  be  badly  handicapped.  The 
untoward  conditions  are  inherent  and  not  merely  external. 

The  boarding  facilities  for  students  are  far  from  satis- 
factory at  present,  many  residents  even  now  furnishing  ac- 
commodations for  students  at  considerable  inconvenience. 
It  would  be  practically  impossible,  especially  at  Johnson 
and  Randolph,  to  house  any  appreciably  larger  number  of 
students,  should  the  Normal  Schools  increase  in  size. 

The  communities  where  the  Schools  are  situated  are 
small  and  not  growing,  so  that  there  is  no  apparent  pros 
pect  of  sufficient  training  school  facilities.  The  Schools 
are,  moreover,  somewhat  difficult  of  access  from  large  por- 
tions of  the  State,  a fact  that  militates  against  their  best 
success. 

Although  they  are  State  institutions,  the  Schools  are 
entirely  dependent  upon  the  good  will  of  both  the  commu- 
nities where  they  are  situated  and  of  a few  individuals  own- 
ing or  controlling  the  plants  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
buildings,  the  provision  of  boarding  accommodations,  and 
the  size  and  character  of  the  training  schools, — limitations 
that  should  not  characterize  State  institutions. 


RECOMMENDATIONS. 


In  view  of  the  foregoing  facts,  your  Commission  de- 
sires to  make  the  following  recommendations : 

I.  That  a definite  policy  be  adopted  that  shall  contem- 
plate the  successive  replacing  of  the  present  Normal  Schools 
by  modern,  adequate  plants,  with  dormitories  and  ample 
grounds,  the  property  to  be  owned  by  the  State,  and  located 

in  places  convenient  of  access  where  sufficient  and  proper  i 

training  school  facilities  are  to  be  had. 

II.  That  the  General  Assembly  authorize  and  order  the 
erection  of  a new  Normal  School,  with  ample  buildings, 


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accommodations,  and  equipment,  located  in  a town  of  suffi- 
cient size,  easy  of  access  from  the  eastern  and  central  parts 
of  the  State,  and  that  a sufficient  sum  of  money  be  appro- 
priated for  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  such  a 
first  class  plant.  It  is  further  recommended  that  the  new 
Normal  School  shall  displace  the  present  School  at  Ran- 
dolph, which  shall  cease  to  be  maintained  as  a State  Normal 
School  when  the  new  school  shall  be  opened  for  students. 

The  entrance  requirements  for  such  a School  should  be 
raised  to  graduation  from  high  schools  of  the  first  class  or 
its  equivalent,  and  a correspondingly  richer  and  broader 
course  of  study  be  introduced,  one  that  shall  include  pro- 
fessional and  scholastic  studies,  practical  training  in  suffi- 
ciently large  classes,  elementary  agriculture,  and  industrial 
training  and  domestic  science.  Such  a central,  high-grade 
Normal  School  could  well  conduct  and  supervise  training 
classes  in  other  towns  not  too  far  distant,  and  thus  increase 
its  influence  and  field  of  practical  utility. 

III.  That  the  Normal  Schools  at  Johnson  and  Castleton 
be  continued  for  the  present,  and  that  an  increased  appro- 
priation be  voted  for  each  of  these  Schools,  as  follows:  a 
sum  of  $8,000  annually  for  each  School  and  an  additional 
annual  appropriation  of  $4,000  to  be  applied  to  said  Schools 
in  the  discretion  of  the  Board  of  Normal  School  Commis- 
sioners according  to  the  varying  needs  of  said  Schools,  pro- 
vided that  in  no  year  shall  the  portion  of  one  School  exceed 
$2,500;  that  the  appropriation  for  the  Normal  School  at 
Randolph  during  its  continuance  be  at  the  rate  of  $7,500 
annually. 

IV.  That  in  any  locality  where  a Normal  School  is 
situated,  or  may  be  located,  the  community  shall  enter  upon 
a long-term  contract  with  the  State  to  furnish  for  the  use 
of  the  Normal  School  a satisfactory  training  school  with  a 
guaranteed  minimum  number  of  pupils,  and  that  such 
training  school  shall  be  conducted  at  the  expense  of  said 
community,  with  the  exception  of  the  salaries  of  the  critic 
teachers.  Said  training  school  should  be  under  the  pro- 
fessional supervision  of  the  principal  of  the  Normal  School. 


The  privilege  should  be  retained  by  the  State  of  terminating 


such  a contract  at  the  expiration  of  any  school  year  upon  six! 


months'  notice. 

V. 

lie  Statutes, 

approved  high  schools  be  repealed,  and  that  the  re-graduate.jjL^ 
courses  as  now  outlined  in  the  Normal  Schools  be  abolished.il 


HHHD 

The  Commission  recommends  that  Section  965,  Pub- 
tutes,  providing  for  the  certification  of  graduates  of* 


Respectfully  submitted, 

Frank  L.  Greene, 
Clarence  H.  Dempsey, 
Bert  L.  Stafford, 

L.  Ethelbert  Sherwin, 
Willis  N.  Cady. 


